Air Conditioning - ventilation for thru wall AC - please help...

I have a thru-wall AC unit in my condo, but after about 5 minutes of use, the compressor shuts off. The fan keeps blowing, but no cold air. :confused:

I thought it was a ventilation issue with something overheating and an auto shut-off triggering, so I pulled the unit out of the window and ran it completely unobstructed. The unit operated beautifully and so I know it's definitely a ventilation issue rather than a busted AC. :D

I think the problem is the exterior vent, which looks to be too small for the unit I have. It's only the size of half the back-face of the AC and there's metal slats and metal mesh across it to keep out water and bugs. I'm assuming one solution would be to make the vent bigger, but since I live in a condo, I can't easily rip out the vent without talking to the condo association about changing the exterior of my unit. I also don't want to pay for major work if I can avoid it.

I have pictures of the unit, the hole/setting in the wall and the exterior vent, but I can't post images so I can get some good advice on options. Does anyone know how I can get pictures posted on this message thread? It's kinda hard to describe it any further and pictures would make this so much easier. I can also email the pics to anyone that emails me: jying98@gmail.com

or look here for the pics:
http://www.houserepairtalk.com/showthread.php?p=21726#post21726

The AC unit is an AMANA AAC182STA

Thanks in advance for the help!

Jim

Did it ever work in the old thru the wall position? If not, then I'd agree that you need more ventilation via a larger vent, etc.

It worked in the thru-wall position for about 5 minutes, then the compressor would shut down (fan keeps going).

My guess is that's it's one of two problems:

that it's not pulling in enough air from the top and sides or

that there's not enough venting out for the hot air coming out the back?

If it's the 1st, then I could drill some holes in the top of metal frame that's set in the wall to hopefully let it pull in more air. (any other options?)

If it's the 2nd, then I need to figure out a way to vent the hot air in back more effectively. Either by increasing the size of the vent in back or maybe adding in a fan in the current vent to blow out the hot air. (any other options?)

After seeing those pics, all I can say is wow! Maybe moving the case a little further into the room might give it a little more breathing room, but right now the high head pressure is causing the compressor to overheat and dropping out on internal protection. I wonder how many units your landlord is going to go through before they realize the problem.

I'm not very familiar with HVAC terms, so bear with me :)

what does high head pressure mean?

Which of these would you say is the problem?

that it's not pulling in enough air from the top and sides or
that there's not enough venting out for the hot air coming out the back?


It's a condo that I own... :p , so I'm looking for a long term solution.

Bottom line is that it is starved for air on both back and sides. in order for the exhaust fan to do it's job, it has to draw cool air through the slots on the sides use that air to push the air out the back to cool the refrigerent. The compressor head pressure runs higher when it can't breath, higher amps and runs hotter. It's cutting itself out to protect the compressor from burning up. It is eventually going to kill it. How are others cooling their condos?

I haven't talked to everyone in the building, but I live in Seattle so it's not too frequently that we need AC, so some people just live without it even though it's sitting right there.

Others have two vents on the exterior instead of one, so that probably helps with the ventilation in back.

I think I'll try pulling off the vent and screen in back to see whether that works. I could also put a fan in back to push the air out.

How could I fix the problem if it's not pulling enough cool air from the sides and top, though?